The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into a Mississippi sheriff’s department whose officers tortured two Black men.

"Put simply, the concerns about the Rankin County Sheriff's Department did not end with the demise of the Goon Squad."

The investigation comes after Rankin County sheriff's deputies and a Richland police officer, called the "Goon Squad," were sentenced to federal prison.

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday launched a civil rights probe into the Rankin County Sheriff's Department in Mississippi after several of its former officers known as the "Goon Squad" were prosecuted for torturing and sexually abusing two Black men.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a civil rights investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department following a racist attack on two Black men by white officers.  The

Last year, two Black men were beaten and tasered by six officers in a no-warrant house raid. Since then, the Justice Department said it got more complaints regarding similar instances by the deputies.

The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the sheriff’s department in Mississippi’s Rankin County after several of its deputies – including some who were in a self-styled “Goon Squad” – abused and tortured two Black men in a racially charged home raid last year.

"We will continue this transparency and will fully cooperate with all aspects of this investigation," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

The Justice Department will determine if allegations of widespread violence and improper searches amount to a pattern of discrimination in the department.